BEAUFORT, NORTH CAROLINA – A 9 foot, 8 inch white shark recently pinged off the coast of Beaufort, North Carolina, and it wasn’t just any shark on the move.
OCEARCH, a global non-profit dedicated to ocean and marine conservation through data collection, routinely tags marine life and tracks their journey in the ocean.
The behemoth sub-adult apex predator became the 100th tagged white shark in OCEARCH’s Global Shark Tracker in July, and earned a special name to commemorate the milestone.
BELOVED ‘DANNY’ THE WHITE SHARK FOUND DEAD AFTER 6 YEARS OF TRACKING HIM THROUGH THE ATLANTIC
Named in honor of Dr. Quinton White of Jacksonville University’s Marine Science Research Insititute, “Quint” was first tagged in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia and, like many snowbirds this time of year, began his migration south along the East Coast to warmer waters and pinged off of the Carolina Coast on Nov. 14.
“When we started, not one white shark had been tagged in the Western North Atlantic by OCEARCH — and tagging 100 felt impossible. But inch by inch, with grit, teamwork, and belief, we got there,” said Chris Fisher, OCEARCH Founder and Expedition Leader.
Quint’s quest for warmer waters comes just days after the largest male great white shark, Contender, resurfaced in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New Jersey.
LARGEST MALE GREAT WHITE SHARK EVER RECORDED PINGED OFF NEW JERSEY COAST
At a whopping 1653 pounds and 13 feet long, Contender is estimated to be about 32 years old.
